How to Get By
by lightningstrikestheworld
Summary: How did this happen? It was just supposed to be a minor attack on the city, one that they'd resolve in a few minutes and go get pizza. But no, it turned out to be something bigger than they thought. Something bigger than the five of them combined.
1. Prologue

It was over. It was finally over. They hadn't had a clue what they were going up against. They thought it was just an old enemy turning up to cause a ruckus. What they hadn't expected was this. Not a single one of them expected the idiot to blow himself up and start the collapsing of buildings and fires spreading all across the city.

Practically every building within a five mile radius was going up in flames or scattered on the road. Cars were overturned or nothing but shells with flames erupting from it. Bodies littered the ground, some in pieces, some with their skin melted to the pavement below, and some, unlucky souls, screaming in agony.

And they also hadn't expected what seemed like twenty old villains to reappear and try to take over the city. But, as superheroes, they had to put their lives on the line to do whatever it took to protect the people in Jump City. And that's what it had led to.

Cyborg had been the first to fall. He'd lost his hand in the initial explosion, and he wasn't expecting for someone to sneak up behind him and blast a huge gaping hole through his chest, and he was ripped into pieces, the only thing still attached to his body was his head. At least he went quickly.

Or at least, that's what Beast Boy had told himself.

Star was shot down protecting Robin of course. He was so focused on taking down Red X that he hadn't seen Mad Mod's statue replicas coming at him, lasers, drills, saws and all. She was pierced through the chest and collapsed to the ground, blood pouring and puddling around her slowly dying body. She, Beast Boy knew, did not go as quickly as he'd hoped.

That only sent Robin into a frenzy. He defeated Mad Mod, Control Freak, and Mumbo before he engaged with X a second time. But that's when Slade stepped in. Red X and Slade were merciless while they fought against the Boy Wonder, and he suffered multiple broken ribs, a broken ankle, a bone protruding from his left arm. His face was bleeding and Beast Boy couldn't tell whether he'd been hit in the head or whether he'd suffered a broken nose and cuts above his eyes.

Beast Boy fought relentlessly against Cinderblock as a giant green tyrannosaur, tail sending the villain crashing into an already crumbling building. He'd thought quickly and buried the villain under another building, hoping it would subdue him.

Doctor Light ran from Raven, who wrapped him in her magic and threw him into the trailer of a Mac truck that had managed to stay fully intact and right side up.

Well, until the doctor had flown straight through it. Raven turned and saw the trouble that Robin was in, lying crumpled on the ground. She had quickly phased to the space unoccupied in front of him and created a shield. Slade only laughed, and together with X, the shield went down and Slade grabbed her, tossing her petite body into a nearby building.

"I shall deal with you later, dear child." He spoke to her and it sent shivers down her spine. "I must take care of my dear old apprentice before I can take you out as well. But don't worry, child. You'll be with your superhero friends soon."

With that, he lifted Robin up by the throat. The Boy Wonder struggled, trying to pry the villain's hand from him throat, but he couldn't. Not when he was broken and already breathless. It hadn't taken long, about a minute, and Beast Boy had watched his leader go limp and tossed into a building, where in collapsed on him.

Red X proclaimed the death of Robin and all remaining villains cheered, aside from Adonis, who was locked in battle with his parallel, The Beast.

Slade turned his attention to the weak sorceress struggling to push herself to her feet. The Beast wanted to go to her side, to protect her, knowing he had to. With all the strength he could muster, he threw Adonis away and charged at his friend, determined to save her.

Slade drew Raven to her feet, her head bowed, arms swinging ever so slightly. "It is time, dear child. You're friends have all fallen, and your city is ours."

"Not as long as I'm still breathing." She replied and looked up, four red eyes burning with a fire Beast Boy hadn't seen since… Since…

Since she got rid of Slade before taking on her father.

With one quick flash of a bright white light, Beast Boy halted, and when the light faded, the villains were gone. What Raven had done to defeat her father, she'd done again. Beast Boy regained his control and looked at himself. His uniform was in tatters over his body, minor scratches and scrapes on the green skin exposed. Then he gazed around.

The city was still in ruins. Fire burned all around, hurt citizens cried for their loved ones, cried out in pain, and most were silent. This battle was bigger than anything they'd ever suspected to happen in Jump City.

Ever.

A moan pulled Beast Boy from his thoughts and he rushed to the side of his fallen friend. He took her hand and she turned to look at him.

A weak smile graced her lips. "Did we win?"

Tears formed in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah you won it for us, Raven."

She weakly squeezed his hand. "It wasn't just me."

"I know." He said, his voice almost a whisper. "But you won it for the most part. We've all known you were the strongest and bravest of us all."

"Gar." Her voice was soft. "I feel…"

"Feel what?"

"… Light."

Oh no. No no no no no. He'd lost his best friend, his leader, and the alien girl who brought them all together. He wasn't about to lose the girl who he cared for greatly. The girl who never laughed at his jokes. The girl who hugged him when he told her she'd never be alone.

The girl that he loved.

"Gar, Garfield." She tugged on his hand. "You have to do something for me."

"Anything for you, Raven." He didn't care that tears flowed down his cheeks and dropped onto Raven.

"Say it, one last time."

"Say what?"

"What do you call me that I despise?"

"Rae Rae?"

She smiled. "I always like that name."

"Dammit Raven." He took a deep breath, but he couldn't get enough oxygen in his lungs. "Hold on, okay? You and I, we're going to be okay. We're going to rebuild the tower, and we're going to live there together until we die."

"Gar," She started, her voice agonizingly slow, "I don't think I'm going to last much longer."

His heart shattered and he cried, leaning his forehead on her shoulder. "Cy and Star and Rob are gone, Rae. You can't leave me too."

Her arms embraced him. "I make no promises, Garfield Logan. But, we need to get out and to the tower, otherwise I really don't have a chance."

He pulled back and looked at her. He pressed his trembling lips to her forehead and before he let the Beast take control, he said, "I will not let you die. Not while I'm still breathing."

He hoped she'd make it to the tower and he could get her hooked up to the machines in time to save her life. She was too weak to heal herself, but Beast Boy could save her.

He failed to save Cy, and Star, and Rob. He failed to save Jump City and its citizens. He had failed to save Terra, too.

But this time, he wouldn't fail.


	2. Chapter 1

People screamed as the beast surged forward through the streets, launching over all the debris and overturned cars that were in its path. A small part of him knew he should stop and see if he could help these poor, innocent citizens, but right now, they didn't take priority.

Raven did. Raven, who'd somehow managed to make them all go away. Raven, who'd told Beast Boy she didn't think she was going to survive through this one. Raven, who's dying wish was to hear Beast Boy call her by the nickname she'd supposedly despised.

They were older now, and once Robin had almost let Beast Boy bleed out because he made them all stop to check on a man who'd been minorly injured. Raven was too weak to heal Beast Boy, but she did not leave his side, and after two minutes of the other three Titans still not planning on leaving any time soon, she'd phased them back and had him hooked up to a few machines before they got back. And had she not done that, he surely would have died.

If Robin were with him in those moments that he mowed his way through the broken remnants of the city, completely ignoring people, he may have punished him, yelled at him, or even ordered him to stop. But if their roles had been switched, and it was Robin carrying a slowly dying Starfire in his arms, he knew that Robin would've done the same thing.

He'd never ran faster in his life. He decided three legs were faster than two, as his left arm cradled the wounded empath to his chest as he charged towards the partially destroyed tower.

And now that he thought about it, Cy had mentioned something about an installment to the tower he had built specifically for this purpose; an almost exact replica of parts in the main tower, like their bedrooms, the training room, the medical bay, the conference room, the-

_Medical bay!_ He knew the one above ground had been destroyed in the initial attack, along with the commons room. But Cyborg had thought ahead, and he'd made another below the tower. In his whole entire life, Beast Boy had never been more thankful for Cyborg and his brain.

He seemed to push his legs to go even faster once he reached that realization, and he was closing in on the tower. He noticed that there was a boat, completely unoccupied, floating about twenty feet away from the dock where it should have been tied to. He knew he could jump and make it.

So he did. The boat rocked violently with the impact of his landing, but he kept his balance, his large hand gripping onto the side of the boat. He found the steering wheel and found that the key was in the ignition. Someone had left them behind, probably in their fear of not making it out of that attack alive.

He turned the key and floored it. Nothing else mattered to him right now more than getting Raven to the medical bay. She had to be okay. She was the toughest one of all of them. She was always okay. She went to hell and she came back and defeated her father.

She would be okay. And Beast Boy would make sure of it.

He didn't even bother to slow down when he neared the island. He simply ran and jumped, landing maybe fifteen yards away from the tower and was running long before he heard the boat crash into the island. He ran through a gaping hole in the tower and went immediately to the stairwell, jumping from landing to landing until he reached the door with a white house spray painted onto it.

Beast Boy flung the door open and found himself standing in the commons. It looked exactly like the one floors up from here. He didn't bother to turn on the lights and headed straight for the medical bay.

Once there, he carefully placed Raven's body on a cot and slowly came back to his original form, taking on the teen whose body was beaten from the fight, but nothing serious. His wounds would heal on his own accord, and quickly with his DNA the way it was, he healed faster than any of them.

Raven's body didn't keep contact with the bed for more than five seconds before she began levitating. He let out the breath he was holding. This was good. This meant she was working on healing herself.

This also meant that she wasn't ready to die.

He began hooking the monitors up to her body and thanked god that Cyborg had made them all learn how to use the machines. That's when he heard the steady beeping. He looked at a monitor that had lit up as soon as he had placed a small sticky pad to Raven's bare chest, right over her heart, where her uniform had been ripped. Her heart had a slow beat, but it was steady, and she would survive.

He looked at her now, a good, hard look. Her uniform, like his, was ripped in several places. Her cloak, that famous blue cloak that she hid behind, even after her father had been defeated, was nothing but shreds of cloth. Beast Boy unclasped it from around her neck and let it drop to the floor beside the bed.

She would be okay for now. Now that she was in the process of healing, he could attend to the matters that needed taken care of. He took her small hand by her side and shivered at how cold it was.

"I'll be right back, I have to call someone and let them know that we survived. You just keep healing yourself, okay?" He kissed her forehead for a second time in one day. "Come back to me soon, alright? I-I really need you right now."

With one last final look at her expressionless face, Beast Boy let go of her hand and headed off towards the commons room. The hallway was dark, only lot by three or four dim lights partially hidden in the walls. Cyborg made this place look so much like the original, it was scary.

The same couch sat in the center of the room, same color, same shape, same length. The same coffee table, the same kitchen, everything. It was all exactly and painfully the same. He could see Cyborg sitting there, controller in hand, yelling out curses as Beast Boy beat him at some racing game, Raven sitting in the corner of the couch, legs crossed and a book in her hand, Starfire sitting at the table with Robin, who flipped through files and smiled at the bickering, and the robotic teen as he yelled, "Oh, you're getting it now, Grass Stain!"

But now, the room was dark and empty of all life except for Beast Boy. Sighing, he walked to the giant screen that hung on the wall, sitting down on the coffee table and picking up the remote. He pressed a button, and the lights in the room came on, and pressed another one, this time, the screen lighting up.

With a sigh, he hoped-no, he _prayed_ that someone would answer him. "Beast Boy calling anyone who can hear this."

After a few seconds, a familiar face lit up the screen. The figure on the screen looked happy.

"BB, it's good to see you!" Bee's energetic voice rang through the room.

"Hey, Bee." He said monotonous.

"How are things? I take you all got everything under control?"

He hesitated. "Well, no. No, things are not under control."

"What do you mean?" Her expression showed concern and confusion. "Are you okay?"

"No." He answered immediately. "I am _a ton_ of things right now, but okay is most definitely _not_ one of them." His voice wasn't even his own, at least, it wasn't to him. This voice sounded angry, something Beast Boy never was.

"You looked a little banged up. Did you have Sparky get you checked out?"

He flinched visibly at the nickname of his best friend. "Bee, I need you to do something for me."

"Beast Boy, what's wrong?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath. He began telling the story slowly. "Practically every villain we'd ever faced ran rampant in Jump. We thought it was only one or two, nothing major. But there was this explosion, it came out of nowhere, Bee. Absolutely nowhere."

"Oh my gosh, is everyone alright?"

"Jump City is a disaster. Tons of people are dead or injured, buildings are collapsed, on fire, the roads are broken up. I-I need you to gather up some Titans and help get Jump City on its way to recovery."

"What about you and your team?"

He paused, and when he felt Bee's eyes boring into him, he looked up, tears flowing down his cheeks. "I don't have a team anymore. At least, not really."

"Beast Boy." Bee looked shaken. "What do you mean?"

Something inside him snapped. He jumped to his feet. "I mean they're gone, Bee! Robin and Starfire and Cyborg, they're dead! They died fighting off every villain we ever faced and I'm all that's left!"

Tears streamed down Bumble Bee's cheeks and Beast Boy felt a pang of guilt for yelling at her like that. He sighed and continued, this time his voice was normal volume.

"Raven, somehow she managed to get rid of who all remained. It took _all _of her energy, and she almost died. She's healing now, and I don't want to leave her side. Bee, I need you to get some Titans together and bring them here. Have them help start to rebuild Jump City, please."

"O-okay, Beast Boy." She said finally, sniffling and rubbing her nose on the back of her hand. "I'll get some guys together and send them over."

"Thank you, Bee. I'll have my communicator on me, so have them call it."

"I'll pass along the message."

"The tower has been mostly destroyed." He said, slowly easing back onto the coffee table. "Cy thought ahead and built some rooms underground. Tell them to go to the stairwell and keep going down until they see a white house spray painted on a door. That's where we'll be. Inside here, it's exactly like the real tower. I'll be either in the medical bay or the commons room."

"Okay, Beast Boy. Take it easy, okay? Let us take care of things above until you two get back on your feet."

"I will. Thank you, Bee."

"See you soon, BB."

The screen went blank and silence filled the room. Beast Boy looked down at himself. A shower was in order for him. He was covered in grime and dried blood and who knows what else. He got to his feet and began walking back towards his room. He paused by the open door that gave him a view of Raven floating above her bed. He sighed and went on his way.

….

Their rooms were the same, too. Well, Beast Boy's was a little cleaner than what it would had he been staying down here. The water was just as hot in the shower as it was a few floors up, and he found it soothing. After drying off and wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked out to his closet.

Who knew that he had so many uniforms? There were just as many in this one as his old one. He reached in and plucked one off the hangar and put it on. His tangled green hair stuck to his forehead as he exited his room and went straight to the medical bay.

Beast Boy pulled a chair beside the bed and crossed his arms on it. He stared at Raven. He wanted to change her uniform, so random parts of her body weren't showing. But he knew if he would try, she would wake up and blast him through the wall.

He thought about doing it, just so she'd wake up. At least then he wouldn't be alone.

He rested his forehead against his arms. "Please wake up, Raven." His voice was barely above a whisper. "_Please_, Rae, I need you."


	3. Chapter 2

He couldn't believe it.

Beast Boy stood in the middle of a street, watching as a battle between his team and Cinderblock went down. Starfire did a back flip in the air and threw Cyborg at the villain, his cannon firing at the exact moment to mix with a few of the exploding discs Robin had thrown in the air. The blast sent the giant flying backwards, landing on the street and breaking it into pieces.

But the monster seemed unfazed by the attack. He sprang back up and reached out, clasping Star in his fist and launching her into a nearby building. The alien disappeared and glass shattered, littering the ground as it fell from twelve stories up. Robin called out her name, then abruptly faced Cinderblock and surged forward, letting a battle cry escape his throat.

Withdrawing his bo staff, he extended it to its full length and spun, swinging the staff at his target. However, Cinderblock was expecting this. He pinched the staff between his thumb and index finger, whipping the Boy Wonder into a building parallel to the one Star had disappeared into.

Beast Boy shifted into a cheetah and ran for the giant, hoping to get the upper hand by shifting into a tyrannosaur at the last second and shoving the monster away. But Cyborg had another plan. He aimed his cannon at the villain, the blue-white light hitting the monster square in the chest. Its feet dug into the road, desperately trying to stop itself from being taken down by a team of tiny heroes.

It did stop, eventually, but not because of the villain itself. Black magic curled around its chest, pinning its arms to its side. From above, Raven held out her arms, palms facing Cinderblock. It tried to break free but its attempt was futile; with Rae's strong magic, he wouldn't be going anywhere unless she allowed it. Cyborg had been closing in on said villain trapped in the blackness, but he made the mistake of coming too close.

An extended foot was all it took to send the robotic teen flying through the air and disappearing somewhere out of Beast Boy's line of sight. This also distracted Raven, whose magic slipped and the giant broke free and took hold of the sorceress, bringing her close to his face, a smile plastered across it.

By that time, a green tyrannosaur had reached the villain and with a swing of its tail, Cinderblock flew through the air, colliding with a cement truck. The compartment that held tons of wet cement caved under the weight of the villain added with its own weight, and slowly the cement glued the monster in place.

But, even through that, the small, purple haired empath was still caught in his hand, struggling to get out from his grip before the cement got her, too. Shifting back to his human self, he ran to her and began prying fingers from around her body. After getting two of them from around her, she pushed down on a large finger and Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her chest and dragged her the rest of the way from the villain's grasp.

Raven tried to stand on her own, but she wobbled, and Beast Boy quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close to him, to keep her standing. Moments after, her slender arm was placed across his shoulders. He looked at her, and she have him her famous, not teeth showing smile. Something inside of him seemed to inflate.

"Beast Boy!" The voice belonged to his leader. He turned, seeing the Boy Wonder walking with a slight limp, but a smile spread wide across his face. "That was amazing! How'd you think of that one?"

"Yeah, B." The robotic teen looked untouched, slapping a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Good job today."

"Friend Beast Boy!" Starfire's warm voice floated through the air. "That was a most glorious victory! Friend Robin, might we partake in the going out for the pizza?"

They all looked to Robin, who appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, he said, "Yeah, Star. I think pizza is in order for this one. Great job today, team. Let's go."

They all cheered and began walking towards their favorite pizza joint.

"Beast Boy." A familiar yet unrecognizable voice said. He stopped mid step, looking around him and the empath at his side. "Hey, BB, are you okay?"

Before he could react, the scene before him changed, and he felt cold where the empath's body had been depending on his own. It was dark, he first realized. Then, there was a hand gripping his upper arm.

It was in that moment he realized that he had been dreaming, dreaming something he'd never get to experience again. That meant he was asleep in his chair beside Raven's bed. The hand on his arm alerted him that they weren't alone.

It also warned him that someone could be trying to hurt Raven.

Without thinking, he launched from his current position and flung his shoulder into the body that the hand clamped on his arm was attached to. He heard a grunt and something hitting the wall before he even opened his eyes.

There, sitting on the floor, back to the wall, knees bent up in the air, rubbing the back of his head, was Kid Flash. Jinx, her pink hair still in the same ridiculous look, knelt beside him, her hand on his shoulder as she stared lasers into Beast Boy.

"Damn." He started, walking quickly to Kid Flash, extending his hand. "I'm sorry, dude. I thought someone had found us, and I was gonna have to protect ourselves."

"Nope, just us." He took Beast Boy's hand and pulled himself to his feet, reaching a hand to his side and pulling Jinx up to hers.

"Thank you for coming." He said, casting a sad smile at both of the teens in front of him.

"Bee's in the commons with a few more of us. We already surveyed the damage, got some injured to the hospital. You were right, Beast Boy. It's a _mad house_ up there. I haven't seen a place looking half as bad as that before."

"Thank you all so much. I would've done it myself, but I wanted to stay with Rae." He turned to look at the empath. She still hadn't moved or showed any sign of life other than her levitation and steady heart beat beeping on the monitor.

"I might be able to help her." Jinx spoke for the first time. "I mean, I'm not near as powerful as she is, but I may be able to speed up the healing process."

"You can do anything if you think it means her waking up." He replied instantly.

Jinx kissed Wally on the cheek and walked over to the empath.

Beast Boy turned his attention to Wally. "Did you uh, find, my team, out there?"

Kid Flash hesitated, but shook his head. "We didn't look for them, honestly. I mean, we were busy with looking at the damage, and helping people. We'll go do that here in a few-"

"No." The changeling interrupted. "Will you and Jinx stay with her until I get back? I have to go get my friends."

"Yeah, sure." Beast Boy moved towards the door. "Hey, Beast Boy?" He turned to look at the teen who hadn't moved from his spot. "I'm so sorry that happened."

"Yeah, me too." He said and disappeared.

Beast Boy tried to shake off that dream. It was just that, a dream, and right now, it was his second biggest dream, to have his team back, to fight with them and go get pizza afterwards. His first, was Raven waking up.

"Beast Boy?" He was taken from his dream as he walked through the doors to the commons room. Bee was on her feet, walking towards him. As soon as she was close enough, she pulled him into an embrace. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, her arms tightening around him.

Beast Boy lost his best friend, but Bee lost her best friend _and_ boyfriend of two or more years. Slowly, his hands came up to rest on the middle of her back. He didn't squeeze, or do anything other than touch her. Her slender body began shaking in his arms, and soon after he heard her sniffle.

He instantly untangled her from him and gave her a small smile. "It's gonna be okay eventually, Bee."

With that, he moved passed her. Standing a few yards behind them, was more familiar faces. The Atlantian prince, arms hanging limply at his sides, Robin's near doppelganger, his trademark bow still attached to his back, the quiet, curly blond headed boy, hands fidgeting in front of him, a short girl with long pink hair, looking as if she was about to burst into tears, and a girl who'd recently clicked with Raven and became good friends with her, black hair with that one streak of red. Also, with the unusual sad look on their faces, was Thunder and Lightning.

"It's good to see you alive and well, Beast Boy." Aqualad stepped up and held a hand out to the changeling.

"Same to you, Aqualad." He took his hand, moving on to Speedy. Wordlessly, they shook hands, Speedy giving him a nod. Jericho looked the same as he had to last time they'd been together, the curly blond hair, his eyes gleaming, this time, he seemed sadder than usual. Though, who could blame him?

Kole gave him a small, sad smile and hugged him. She pulled away as quick as she'd embraced him, using her sleeve to wipe tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Thunder and Lightning shook his hand and said nothing. Beast Boy was grateful they didn't.

Argent looked like she was seconds away from breaking down. "I-is she…" He knew what she was asking.

"No, she's alive. Healing, but alive."

Argent flung her body into Beast Boy's and began crying. Argent's arms locked around his neck and she cried for seconds before Beast Boy felt tears of his own sting his eyes. He wanted to push her away, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tighter against him, leaning his head against her own and letting himself cry. He'd yet to cry since he lost over half his team, and there was a chance that the remaining member might not survive.

That only made him cry harder.

After a few minutes, Argent slowly pulled away. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and looked at Beast Boy, using her fingers to wipe away his own tears. "Can-can I see her, just for a minute?"

He nodded and led her to the room. Kid Flash held Jinx in his lap, but Jinx, however, looked paler than normal, and seemed to be unconscious.

"Is she okay?" Wally looked up from his girlfriend.

"Yeah, she just wore herself out. She said that Raven's in there still, fighting. She somehow pulled Jinx into her mind and told her to pass along the message to you."

Argent went to Raven's side, taking the empath's hand and squeezing it tightly, a few more sobs escaping her. "Is she going to wake up soon?" Beast boy asked as he perched on the edge of the bed, facing Wally.

"Raven? Jinx didn't say."

"Thank you for coming, and I'm sorry about throwing you into the wall."

Kid Flash laughed. "It's fine, Beast Boy. You only thought you were protecting Raven." He looked down at his girlfriend laying limp in his arms. "Can I take her somewhere to rest up a bit?"

"Yeah. Cy made our rooms down here, too. There might be a few spare ones, I don't know. You all are welcome to any of them."

"Thank you, Beast Boy." He scooped up Jinx and walked out of the room.

Argent cleared her throat and Beast Boy turned to face her. "She's going to wake up soon, Beast Boy. I can feel it." She walked up to him. "I'm sorry about breaking down on you like that. But, thank you, for being there."

"Same here." He said and forced a smile her way. She offered up one of her own. "Hey, can I ask a favor?"

"Sure."

"Would you come with me up to the city? I-I need to get my friends and bring them back home."

She hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, yeah I'll go." She reached for his hand and squeezed.

"Thank you."


	4. Chapter 3

Five minutes later they stood in the middle of the fight zone, where most of his team had fallen. They reached Starfire first, looking at her orange body, parts dyed red from the blood pooled around her. Beast Boy lifted her and handed her over to Bee, who'd tagged along to help, along with Speedy and Aqualad. Silently, Bee took off with Star's body.

Cyborg was next. Speedy found all of his missing appendages and laid them beside their rightful place. Argent aimed her hands at him, and her red energy began reattaching the limbs that had been violently ripped from his body during the fight. Speedy and Aqualad loaded him into the T-Car, which they had driven over in. Once they were both in the car, they drove off, leaving Beast Boy and Argent to find his leader.

A moan sounded from the far left and Beast Boy froze. He looked at Argent, whose hands now began to glow with the energy she exerted. Slowly, they neared a small building that was half collapsed. Why did it look so familiar to him? It was just a flower shop that Slade and thrown Robin into.

The realization hit him quicker than anything else had. "Robin!" He exclaimed and ran for the building, throwing bricks and glass and anything, just digging his way through the collapsed building.

Argent was by his side instantly, doing the same as him. After what felt like hours of digging, she threw a brick and saw a green glove. Beast Boy hoped that there was a hand in that glove, and that the rest of the body was with it.

"Robin!" Argent pushed aside a ton of bricks and broken flower pots and finally found the leader's face.

"Rob?" Beast Boy stilled.

Silence. Was Beast Boy too late yet again?

"B-Beast..." There it was. Robin's mangled voice.

"Robin, it's okay. I'm here. I got you." Beast Boy dug his leader's body completely out. "Argent, can you heal him, at least so I can move him?"

She let her hands hover over his chest, turning them both red. After a few seconds, she looked at him. "I can't do much. My healing isn't as good compared to Jinx and Raven, but it'll do until we get him back to the tower."

"Fly over me." Beast Boy said, wordlessly handing control of his body over to the Beast, who grabbed Robin and tucked him into his chest the same way he did Raven. He quickly glanced above, seeing Argent's flying form above him. And then, he ran.

It was easier to run through the city now that all the injured, dead and luckily unharmed citizens of Jump were off the streets. He ran the same path he ran with Raven in tow, but this time, it was his leader, his broken, beaten to a pulp leader.

How in the hell had he survived that long? Beast Boy had to have been asleep for hours, and the fight had to have ended at least an hour before he finally slept. It was still daylight, though. Maybe he wasn't asleep for as long as he had previously thought.

There was only one minor setback now, though. There was no boat to take him to the tower. The road that lead to their island was on the opposite side of town, and he wasn't sure Robin had that kind of time, even with his beast in control.

He looked above him, seeing Argent flying as fast as she could to keep up with him. She stared down at him, and slowly, he skidded to a stop, Argent flying down to land in front of him.

"Beast Boy, just keep running. Trust me, I'll get you both across the water."

He nodded and took off once more. Argent flew behind him, not far behind, but about twenty feet in the air. He was quickly closing in on the water, and nothing was happening. He hoped Argent would come through for Robin's sake. Just before he reached the water, a wide strip of water gave off a red glow. He trusted Argent. He hoped this would work.

And she came through. As he ran, the red glowing path stretched out and headed straight for the tower. He touched land and Argent flew past him. He charged behind her, and heard the door smack the wall and Argent's voice echoing through the stairwell.

"Bee, Speedy, we need help!"

Beast Boy shifted back, maneuvering a barely conscious Robin so his feet dragged the ground. "Argent, help."

She ran to his side, taking the other half of Robin's body and helping him take him to the medical bay.

"He's alive?" Speedy's voice was hopeful.

"Just barely." Beast Boy and Argent lowered Robin onto a bed and Bee tore the remains of Robin's shirt off. His whole entire top half was bruised and sick looking. His chest barely moved, but he seemed to be breathing.

"Wally, go wake up Jinx. I need her to help me heal him a little bit." Argent's hands hovered over his chest again, more to his left. Wally disappeared as he channeled his speed to go get Jinx. "Damn, how is he still alive? This is gonna take days to get him to heal, even with Jinx and I both healing him."

"But he'll be okay, right?" Beast Boy sat down in a chair near Robin's bed. "He has to be."

"If Jinx and I can keep him stable, he'll be fine."

"I don't know how much help I'll be." The pink haired sorceress walked in, straight to the side opposite of Argent. "I gave my all to Raven. I'll do what I can."

"Anything will help him, Jinx. His arm, his ankle, I think his nose, even. I'm working on his ribs, and I think his lungs are about to give out."

"He got choked out." Beast Boy's voice was barely audible. "Check his windpipe, it may be damaged."

Argent's hands moved to his throat. She gasped and the red glow seemed even brighter. Robin's legs moved, like he was uncomfortable. "It's okay, Robin. We're almost done. Jinx, stop. You're gonna drain yourself again. I can manage it from here."

Jinx took a step back and nearly fell to the ground. Jericho caught her beneath her arms and slowly lowered her into the ground, sitting on his heels and resting her back against his thighs. Wally was over to her side in an instant, taking her face in his hands.

Argent gasped and all attention in the room shifted from Jinx to her, save Wally. Her hands clenched the bed sheets and she was bent over at the waist. "I've never... Healed so much..." Her knees buckled and she landed on them.

Beast Boy was by her side, wrapping his arms around her. "Argent?"

"Exhausted." She breathed. "Help me up, would ya?"

Beast Boy's arms wrapped around her rib cage and he slowly pulled her to her feet, her hands holding lightly into his arms. "Thank you for healing him, Argent. You need to rest now, though. You can't even stand up."

She sighed. "I can't argue with you there." She patted his arm. "You too, Casanova. You had a long day."

"I have stay and watch Rae and Rob."

"We'll watch him." Kole's soft voice broke through. "Jericho and Speedy and Aqualad and I, we can watch them until you get some rest."

Beast Boy hesitated. "O-okay." He said.

Argent shifted so that her arm was slung over his shoulders and only one of his arms was around her. With a final wave, the duo headed out of the medical bay, the changeling glancing over his shoulder one last time at his broken teammates.

"You're gonna have to stay in my room." He said as he walked through his own door. "I don't exactly want to go in the others' rooms."

"I understand." Argent reached for the ladder on his metal bunk bed and slowly climbed up, plopping down on it. "Hot Spot will be here tomorrow sometime." She rolled onto her side to stare at the changeling still standing in the middle of the room. "He got caught up somewhere, but he'll be here."

"Thank you for coming, Argent."

"Anything for the people who saved my life." Her smile gave Beast Boy a little spark of happiness. "Now get some rest. It's gonna be a long couple of months I'd say."

He crawled into the bed, saying a goodnight. He was asleep within a minute.


	5. Chapter 4

This time, Beast Boy didn't dream. No, he got sleep, surprisingly _good_ sleep. Though he couldn't say the same for Argent. She woke him up by letting a shriek pierce his sensitive ears. He rolled out of bed, shifting into a rhinoceros and letting out a roar, looking around his bedroom for the source of Argent's shriek. The room was empty, save Argent, who clutched the sheets with one hand while the other was splayed across her chest, which rose up and down with every deep, shaky breath she took.

He changed back to his human form, taking a few steps closer to the bed, resting his hand on the silver railing that prevented Argent from rolling off into the floor. "Argent?" his voice was quiet, even for him.

"I'm fine." She breathed. "Just a dream."

The room fell silent, Argent's heavy breathing the only thing filling the room. After a few moments, Beast Boy spoke. "I have nightmares too." She shifted on the bed so she fully faced him, legs Indian style, hands folded nearly in her lap. "About losing Raven, about losing my team, my parents, the Doom Patrol. Even the Brotherhood of Evil. But that's all they are. Dreams. I have trouble remembering that, especially now, but they aren't real."

Argent nodded and Beast Boy continued. "I'm gonna go make some breakfast." He offered her his hand. "Wanna come?"

She placed her abnormally pale hand in his and it reminded him much of Raven. After helping her down, he withdrew his hand and led her from the room. He slowed down as he neared the med bay, trying to decide whether he should wait until after breakfast to check on his teammates.

"We can check on them now." She walked in front of him to face him. "I can't heal them yet, but I can after breakfast. I just want to see how they are."

Beast Boy nodded and pushed the door open, walking his way in. Argent followed closely. He cast his eyes to Raven first, who still hadn't moved. Then he shifted focus to Robin.

The bed was propped up so that Robin wasn't laying flat, as he found it uncomfortable most of the time. Beast Boy knew that for fact. Wires and tubes came out of random places in the leader's body, and the first Beast Boy took note of was the tube protruding from his mouth.

The soft voice that seemed to come from nowhere startled both of the Titans. "He woke up a few hours ago." Kole was sitting in a chair beside his bed, arm on the armrest, temple resting against her fist. She cracked her eyes open and continued. "Gave us all a scare. He said he couldn't breathe, and then his heart rate spiked, and well, we had to put the tube in so he could breathe."

Beast Boy stared at his fearless leader. He looked so unlike himself, pale and bruised and there was a cast on his arm and foot. He could see a sheen of sweat on his leader's forehead, his usually perfect black spiky hair fell limp and a few locks were glued to his forehead with sweat.

Argent reached Robin's side and swiped the hair off his head, running her fingers through it so that it spiked up somewhat. "He doesn't look the same without the spiky messy hair." She sighed and ran her free hand through her own hair. "Trust me, Robin, I know how you feel."

"Kole, I was just in the way to start breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

Kole yawned and stood up, stretching her thin arms over her head. "I could go for some breakfast. I'll go wake up the others. I know some of them crashed in a couple of the rooms." She was out of the door by the time she ended her sentence.

Beast Boy suddenly found himself standing before Raven's bed, his green fingers closing around the empath's small grey ones.

"I know you're in there, and you took a lot of damage. Robin's alive, and he's in here with you. We're not alone, Rae Rae. People came to help us get Jump back to its former glory. Bee, Speedy, and Aqualad, Wally and Jinx, Thunder and Lightning, Kole, Argent and Jericho, and they said Hot Spot was even coming." He chuckled. "So many people, Rae. They came to help us."

Beast Boy leaned forward and kissed Raven's cheek. Then, he whispered in her ear, "Come back to us soon, okay? Not only do I need you, but now Robin's gonna need you too."

Turning away from the pale motionless girl, he looked over to Argent, who leaned against the door frame. "She's strong." The girl pushed off the frame as Beast Boy approached her. "She'll be back before either of us know it."

"I know." He followed Argent out into the hallway and just as she pushed the door open, she let out a small squeal and flew full speed towards the couch. A grunt alerted Beast Boy that there was a person in her path.

"It's good to see you too, Argent." A familiar voice spoke and received a giggle from the black and red haired girl. Beast Boy looked at the ground, seeing Argent practically laying on top of someone.

Slowly, then two straightened up and Beast Boy recognized the guy looking up to meet his gaze. "Hey, Hot Spot."

Argent floated off the pyro-kinetic and he jumped to his feet, walking over to the changeling with his hand extended out to him. "Beast Boy, it's good to see you again."

"Same to you, Hot Spot." He clasped the pyro's hand.

Suddenly, the stench of meat reached the changeling's nostrils. He turned to the kitchen, seeing Bee and Aqualad moving about the area, plates and frying pans and bowls in their hands, on the counter, on the table. Foods or various sorts were scattered around the area, and at the bar, sat Speedy, shoveling eggs into his mouth faster than Beast Boy ever thought possible.

And that coming from him was saying something.

"I hope you don't mind, BB," Bumble Bee's voice rang through his ears, "Garth and I started breakfast. We figured you might be hungry and there's no need for you to cook when he and I are used to cooking for our own team."

Maybe Raven was right. Aqualad was very mature, while Speedy, on the other hand, was still as childish as he was when he first became an honorary Titan. Aqualad had always been one to make sure others were taken care of before himself, made wise decisions, and was also rather intelligent. He couldn't really blame Raven for harboring a minor crush on the Atlantian prince.

But that still didn't crush the jealousy that resided in him when Raven and Aqualad were together on a mission or even at a Titan get together.

"You don't eat meat, right?" The Atlantian's voice pierced through Beast Boy's thoughts.

"Right."

"I don't know how the whole tofu thing works, so I nor Bee even tried."

"It's cool, dude. I'm used to making my own breakfast."

Slowly, everyone that stayed in the tower that night (that wasn't already in the room) came sulking in, all of them clearly had been awoken from sleep, save for Jericho, who looked as if he'd never even slept, but yet, he seemed very well rested. There were no bags under his eyes and he overall seemed alert.

Slowly, they all gathered around the bar and stayed quiet after saying good morning to their fellow Titans. Garth and Bee put plates and silverware at the end of the bar, the food scattered along the entire length of it.

"Before we eat," Bee stood with her hands on her hips, "I want to make sure everyone knows what the plans for today are."

Beast Boy halted making his own breakfast to listen in on her words.

"Kole and Jericho, you two need to get some sleep. You stayed with Robin and Raven last night, and I'd say that's what you'll be doing again today.

"Thunder, Lightning, and Speedy, you will go into the city and start helping the workers with anything they need. Aqualad, Wally, Jinx and myself will be there after we go to the hospitals and make sure everyone's been properly taken care of."

"What about Isaiah and myself?" Argent asked, leaning more into the pyro's body.

"Well, I need you and Jinx to give the two in med bay a quick healing, but not enough to wear yourselves out. Hot Spot, if you need to, rest before coming to help us with the city." He nodded in understanding.

"So, what else am I doing?" Argent's normally perfect hair was sticking up all over the place and it gave her a wild look.

"Well, I'd like to keep one healer here in case something goes wrong with the two injured. So, I think you should stay here and keep Beast Boy company as well."

"So where am I included in this?" Beast Boy leaned against the island in the kitchen, his elbows resting against the smooth surface.

"I want you to stay here."

"This is _my_ city, Bee." He all but growled and now stood at his full height. "I should be out there helping."

"Do you really want to leave Raven?" He flinched visibly. "I didn't think you would. The eight of us can handle helping the city."

"Thank you so much, Bee. Thank all of you."

"Anything for a Titan, BB." Speedy said through a mouthful of eggs.

Soon, everyone had eaten breakfast and were going through final preparations for the day. Beast Boy followed Argent and Jinx to the medical bay and watched as they healed up both of his injured teammates. Jinx gave him a smile as she left.

Argent walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "They're two of the toughest Titans I've ever met. They'll be fine soon, love, I promise."

"Thank you, Argent." He said, feeling the need to hug her. "For everything."

Her tiny arms wrapped around him too. "Anytime, Beast Boy. Just remember, you're just as strong as they are." She pulled away and gave him a smile. "Take it easy, alright? I'll be around if you need me. I have got to do something with my hair before I do anything else."

He nodded, actually smiled back at her and moved to Raven's bedside.

"Just keep fighting, Rae Rae. We're all worried about you. You're so much stronger than this Raven. Come back me."

Things were silent other than the beeping from the machines. Beast Boy was just about to fall back to sleep when he heard it.

"Beast Boy?"

His head snapped up and he found himself standing in the middle of a dark clearing, the moon shining dimly overhead, trees surrounding him. Just ten feet in front of him was a familiar face.

He paled. "Raven?"


	6. Chapter 5

He could not believe his eyes no matter how badly he wanted to. He was only dreaming, and Raven was still motionless on the bed in the med bay.

But that still didn't stop him from treating this as if it were really happening.

"Raven... How-how is this even..."

She took a few tentative steps forward while she spoke. "It's good to see you again, Garfield."

"I'm dreaming again, aren't I?"

She gave him the smallest of smiles. "Well, not exactly. Yes, you are dreaming, but I am real. I'm dream walking." She looked exactly like she had on any given day. Cloak hiding her face, hardly any part of her body visible.

"So it's you? It's really, really you?"

"Yes, Gar." She removed her hood and a slightly larger smile sent a chill down his spine.

With that, he bounded towards her, crushing her tiny body against his, ignoring her surprised gasp. Her feet were off the ground as he hugged her, his arms wrapped tightly around her midsection. His head was tucked under her chin and she only laughed softly, running her fingers through his matted hair.

"I missed you too, Garfield."

He gently set her down but didn't take his hands off her waist, keeping her at close range. "Missing you is an understatement."

She flashed him one of those famous smiles, and something inside of him seemed to relax. "I've heard you talking to me."

"Really?"

She nodded, that smile still gracing her lips. "I'll be back within a day or two. I have a few last things I need to fix here, but I'll be back soon."

"Promise?"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his and pulled away just as soon as she had been there. "I promise."

He felt the blush staining his cheeks and even saw some color on hers as well. He felt the need to do something for her-or perhaps for himself. He wanted nothing more than to just hold her against his body, to have her in his real arms instead of holding her his dream.

But it felt real, and that's all he could ask for for right now.

Before he could do anything, he was ripped from the dream and he bolted upright, a gasp escaping his throat. He took in his surroundings before he finally willed his heart rate to return to normal and slowed his breathing.

Raven floated before him, looking almost exactly as she had in the forest with him moments ago. He felt a calming feeling lace throughout his entire body just by looking at her in this peaceful state.

That was his Raven. That was te girl he loved. The one who was strong enough to do anything, even when her body needed time to recover, she still had her soul self that could do things that needed to be done while her body was out if commission. She had invaded is dreams. She told him she would be back soon.

She had kissed him.

Oh, never in his life had he wanted to kiss her so bad as he did now. He wanted to hold her against his chest and stroke her back. He wanted to kiss her forehead when she blushed at his action or something he'd said. He wanted to know what it was like to have her sleeping form in his arms as he himself drifted off into deep sleep.

And since the attack, those were things he didn't think he'd ever be able to discover.

But now they were things within his reach. And reach them he would.

He smiled to himself and stood up, sparing on last glance at her before heading over to his leader.

Robin still looked so unusual, what with a tube protruding from his mouth, his head cocked to one side, his abnormally pale skin, and the casts on his foot and hand. Beast Boy had always known Robin was never one to show pain. He would push through anything. That was the leader that Beast Boy knew. He could have multiple broken ribs, or broken anything, and there he would be, still fighting.

Beast Boy decided that that will to fight that resided in Robin was most likely the one thing that kept him alive.

He wanted to do something for the Boy Wonder, or even say something, but he could think of nothing.

Beast Boy hated to admit it, but he hated the thought of Robin waking up almost more than he wanted to have his leader back. While Beast Boy lost his best friend in the attack, Robin had lost the guy who stepped up to help lead the team in any way he could, who was brave enough to rub beating the leader at video games in Robin's face, his own best friend. But, he had lost the one thing Beast Boy hadn't.

The love of his life.

Naturally, Star had went down protecting Robin. Hell, she protected them all in every way possible. But Robin, she loved Robin in ways she could never love Cyborg or Beast Boy. She wanted a forever with him. She wanted to go on walks with him, snuggle up and watch movies with him, stay up late and help him work his way through the huge stack of files he worked on practically every night of the week. Robin wanted the same.

And that had been ripped away from the both of them. It had been ripped from the two of them when that blade pierced the alien's stomach, when blood poured from the wound, when she took her last breath and her eyes closed for the final time.

Robin would suffer in a way that Beast Boy wouldn't. He would have Raven, who would have to be there for the both of them. She would have to be the one to hold Beast Boy and Robin together.

Though, she would be facing the losses of the one person she could have girl time with and the one she worked on restoring old cars with and had a very strong brother/sisterly bond with, she wouldn't show that loss. No, she would bottle that all up and hide it somewhere it could only be found by her. She would grieve on her own time, when it was just her and her alone.

Raven would be the only one capable of keeping the remainder of her team together. And of course, she would do it.

Beast Boy vowed he would always be there for her, even when she said she didn't want to be near anyone. Because he knew better.

He gave a final parting glance to his injured leader and left the room. He hadn't realized that he'd walked into the commons area until he heard someone say his name.

"Beast Boy?"

Argent had her arms wrapped around herself, her usually perfect hair was soaked, tiny drops leaving water spots on a dark grey t-shirt. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." He walked passed her and say in the couch. "I talked to Raven."

"Oh?" She said, joining him on the couch.

"Well, she talked to me, actually. I mean, of course I talked back to her."

"She's awake?" Argent rose from the couch but changeling reached out and clasped her wrist.

"No, she was dream walking. She sad she'll be back soon."

"Oh. That's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful." She say back down and a shiver ran through her body.

"Here." Beast Boy reached behind him and unraveled a quilt that hung over the back of the couch and threw it over Argent's shivering body.

"Thank you." He nodded and turned to the screen and began laughing.

"I should've known that Cy didn't buy the game box for his room. Or had copies of all of our games made to keep to himself." His eyes saw the black square with the controllers beside the machine.

"Isn't that te infernal contraption that Hot Spot, Herald and Wildabeest always play back home?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Cyborg made sure all towers had them." He laughed again, taking hold of one of the controllers and turning the station on, followed by the big screen. When the game loaded, Argent gasped.

"I love this game! Mind if I join?"

"You _actually_ play this game?"

She scoffed, standing to retrieve the other remote. "Yes, I certainly do. And I s_moked_ the boys at the tower. And it would be my pleasure to smoke you _as_ well, Beast Boy."

Now he knew why Raven had liked Argent so well. She was confident and had the right amount of cockiness and sassiness in her. She had once told Beast Boy that's something she always wished she could be.

"You're on, Argent." He cast a smirk in her direction, finding she gave him one of her own, and both turned back to the screen, fully focused on the task at hand.


	7. Chapter 6

Eight rounds and a tie breaker later, Beast Boy managed to beat Argent.

By gently (or maybe not so gently) shoving her into the floor.

"You bloody idiot!" She cried, slapping the cackling changeling in the leg repeatedly from her spot on the ground. "You cheated!"

He couldn't answer because he was laughing so hard. But, he did yelp when Argent pulled him off the couch. Then, she was the one cackling.

Argent stood above Beast Boy, offering her hand to him. He took it and pulled himself to his feet. "Just keep in mind, BB, cheaters never win."

He smiled at her. "Sorry, Argent. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back to her side. "That was still ridiculous, Beast Boy. You could've done something else besides dumping me into the floor, you know. I am not one of the many empty pizza boxes scattered in your floor."

"Hey, that sounds like a good idea for lunch." He began walking towards the door.

"Week old pizza boxes? That doesn't sound so appetizing to me." Argent smiled at the changeling and he returned it.

"No, but pizza does." He patted his hip to make sure his communicator was still on him. "Wanna come with me?"

She shook her head. "I need to stay in case either of them wake up. I'll call you if anything happens."

"Thank you, Argent. I'll be back soon."

"Oh, and Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

She cast a wicked smile his direction. "Keep in mind that I am not a fan of tofu, and I like my pizza with pepperoni."

A weak smile touched his face. "I make no promises about that." And with that, he was gone.

...

He hadn't thought about the possibility that the Titans' favorite pizza joint may have been utterly demolished during the fight. However, it was on the other side of the island, where only minor fighting insued, and said place was fully intact.

Beast Boy strolled inside, walking straight up to the counter. There was a young girl with red hair down to her chin staring wide eyes at him.

"You-I know you. You're-you're Beast Boy."

He was mildly confused by her astonishment by his appearance. "Uh, yeah. That would be me."

"Oh, don't mind Meredith." The changeling smiled immediately at the sound of that oh so familiar voice. "She just started working here yesterday."

"Rhonda, it's good to see you." He turned to see the girl brandishing a serving tray with a huge sausage and cheese pizza, that warming smile on her face.

She looked at him and shook her head, placing the pizza on the table belonging to a few kids playing paper football. She straightened and carried the tray back to the bar and gave it to the red haired girl.

Rhonda was the girl who always served the team when they came for, as Starfire called it, victory pizza. She had always been supportive, always helped them in any way possible. Hell, she even helped then catch a few criminals by letting them use the pizza delivery car to sneak in places.

And one time, she served as bait. By this time, Beast Boy had gone to the pizzeria after her shift and they'd sit together and eat pizza. She, too, wasn't a meat eater. The fact that she offered to be bait enraged him. Rhonda was a close friend of his, and he refused to let anything happen to her. And he greatly despised the idea of her being bait for anything.

"Yikes, that's a nice eye ya got there." Rhonda's hair was white blond and styled in a pixie cut, her shining grey eyes scanning the green teen's face. "And a pretty nasty swollen jaw, and a busted lip."

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as she leaned against the counter, never looking away from him. "it wasn't a good fight for any of us."

She gasped, latching onto his hand and pulling him behind the counter and into a back room. Once the door was shut, she turned and pulled his much taller frame into hers. "I saw on the news, is it true? That the whole side is nothing but rubble?"

He nodded, his hands tightening in her black polo shirt. "That's basically it."

She pulled back, her hands caressing his face gently. "I am so glad you're okay, though."

He tensed. "I am a million things, and okay is not one of them, Rhonda." He snapped, immediately regretting the harshness to his voice.

"They said that the Titans in the attack were missing."

He took a deep breath and felt her eyes dig holes into him. "Rhonda, I-I don't-" he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Star and Cy didn't make it." Rhonda gasped. "Raven, she was hurt pretty bad, and I barely got her to the tower in time. And Robin," he opened his eyes and found hers, tears welling up in both pairs. "he-he, uh, I found him a few hours after. Some Titans from around came to help. I heard him, and Argent and I, we dug him out of a flower shop. He's stable for now, but he wasn't good at all when we first got him back."

"I am so sorry, Garfield." She was the only person aside from his team who knew his name.

"I couldn't save them, Rhonda. I tried, and I tried, but I couldn't save them." He was all but crying now. "There were so many of them, and we were struggling to fight them all off." He sniffled. "I almost lost my team because I couldn't save them, Rhonda."

She stared at him, and watch him fight tears, but in the end, he lost, his walls crumbled, and his body began shaking with each sob, each breath.

"Are you more sad that you lost them, or that you think them dying was your fault?" Rhonda's voice was soft when she spoke to him.

He looked up at her eyes again. She stared at him with so much sympathy in her eyes, so much hurt for him, that it overwhelmed him.

Beast Boy covered his face with and slid down the wall until he say on the ground, his knees bent up in the air with his elbows resting on them.

"Hey, hey it's okay." Rhonda was on the ground beside him, a small, cold hand on his shoulder, the other stroking his arm.

Beast Boy had not sat down and just let it all out of his system. Rhonda had been one to get him to talk about things, even when he didn't want to talk about them.

She wrapped her thin arms around his shoulders and pulled him against her body. His hands uncovered his face and locked around her, his face becoming buried in her neck. She cooed him as he cried, running a hand through his hair (she had discovered he found this action very relaxing) and the other stroking patterns up and down his back.

After a good fifteen minutes of crying, Beast Boy relaxed his grip on his small friend and sat up. He wiped his face with his sleeves and looked up at her. "Raven's supposed to wake up soon. She was dream walking, and she visited me."

"It's good that you still have her." Rhonda patted his hand. "She keeps you grounded, I believe. She's good, I always knew she was."

"Rhonda?" Another familiar voice.

"Meredith?"

"Um, there's someone hear to talk to him."

The two on the ground exchanged confused looks before Beast Boy pulled Rhonda to her feet and exited the room.

Upon arriving in the dining area, he scanned over the room for Argent. Maybe Raven or Robin had woken up. He refused to think anything less than that.

He didn't see her, or any of the other Titans that had come to help. Confused, he turned to Meredith. "Who, exactly is here for me?"

"I am, Mr. Logan." He knew that voice. It sounded so familiar yet so unfamiliar.

Walking towards him was a man dressed up in a black suit and his hair reversing further back in his head. It hit him all at once.

"Alfred? Is it really you?"

The old man smiled and nodded. "Why, of course it's me, Mr. Logan. It's so wonderful to see you." Alfred's hand extended towards the changeling.

"Excuse me for asking, Alfred, but what are you doing here?"

His chipper expression and attitude seemingly vanished. "Well, Mr. Logan, Bruce and I were watching the news, and we saw that the city had been attacked. They said that your team has seemed to have vanished completely. Bruce was caught up in other business in Gotham, so he sent me over this way."

"No, there's three left of my team, Alfred."

"Oh, oh dear. Please, Mr. Logan, tell me it wasn't..."

Now he knew why Bruce had sent Alfred all this way. To make sure Robin was still alive.

"No. No, Alfred. Robin is alive."

"Oh, thank heavens he's alright!"

"He's a fighter, Alfred. Though, I have to say it wouldn't have taken a whole hell of a lot more of the villains to take us all down. Starfire, she uh, went down protecting him. And Cy, he was first to go."

"Oh, Mr. Logan, I am so dearly sorry for your losses."

He nodded, not know what else to say.

"Can-can I-come with you, back to your tower, to see him?"

"Of course, Alfred. I was just getting lunch for myself and another Titan."

Alfred embraced the taller boy. "Thank you so very very much, Mr. Logan."

He smiled weakly and turned back to Rhonda. "I need one cheese and one pepperoni, please."

"I'll have them out in a moment."

No sooner than Rhonda handed over the boxes, the communicator at Beast Boy's hip began chiming. "Argent?"

"It-it's Raven."

Beast Boy paled and he felt his heart break even more. "Please don't tell me..."

"Just get back here as soon as you can."


	8. Chapter 7

Never in his life had he felt complete and utter fear as strongly as he had with Argent's words. He'd dropped the boxes of pizza on the counter and took off out of the door in a dead sprint. Beast Boy didn't even hear Rhonda calling for him, and he didn't notice the younger couple making their way through the door in the exact moment he plowed through. He yelled an apology over his shoulder and continued on his way.

Even then Argent's words bounced around in his head. He couldn't think of a good outcome that came from her words. She sounded desperate, pitiful even. "Just get here as soon as you can." The way she'd said that sentence, the sound in her voice, it all added up to make one horrible conclusion.

But Beast Boy clung onto the hope that Raven hadn't lied to him in his dream. She said she'd be back soon. That she was okay. He would be severely pissed if she had lied to make him feel better. Because now, as he spun to dodge running into a majorly pregnant woman, he was pretty damn scared of losing his best friend.

Was she more than that? She had kissed him in his dream. She told him she loved the nickname she supposedly despised for years. Who knows what else she likes about him? If she had been able to hear him, maybe she could feel him in her coma state.

Maybe she liked the feeling of his green hand holding hers. Maybe she liked his thumb tracing half circles on the back of her hand. Maybe she liked it when he kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear. All these questions and more ran through his head.

Beast Boy just hoped he'd be able to ask them.

Just as he neared the edge of the shore, he jumped and transformed into an eagle mid-air and flew straight towards the tower. He could fly far faster than he could swim, so that seemed like his best option. He flew straight through the gaping hole in the tower and transformed back to his human form, skipping steps and busting down the door to the secret underground tower.

No one was there, the lights were on, and there was a pile of broken glass and clear liquid staining the floor. He deemed it unimportant and ran straight towards the med bay.

"Argent, what's going-" he said the last word slow. "on..."

Before him, Argent hugging her pyrokinetic friend, hiding her face from view. Hot Spot looked at Beast Boy and his face seemed to light up. His eyes shifted to Robin, who was obviously unconscious, then to his left. He gasped.

Raven sat up in her bed, hair a mess, uniform still in tatters. She locked eyes with the changeling and smiled. "Hello, Garfield."

He surged forwards and pulled his tiny teammate into his arms, wincing at her grunt of pain. His hand buried itself in her hair, cradling her face into his shoulder, the other wrapped around her body and resting on her waist. He hid his face in her hair, fighting the tears as the overflowed down his cheeks.

"I'm so glad you're back. I'm so glad you're okay."

He felt her slender arms wrap around him and hold him firmly (well, as firmly as her weak body would allow) against her. She titled her head and he felt her lips brush against his neck. "I'm glad you're safe." Her voice said at close proximity to his ear.

He reluctantly pulled away and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her tiny hand in both of his. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak, sore. Nothing a few days of healing won't fix."

Beast Boy frowned. "No healing yourself. At least not yet. Not until you're stronger."

She chuckled. "You sound like Robin." Her expression darkened at the name of her leader. "So, it's just us, right? We're the only ones left?"

He shook his head, directing his attention to Robin. "Argent and I found him in the rubble of the flower shop. He was barely alive when we got to him."

Beast Boy could've sworn he heard Raven sniffle. "Come on," he said, tugging lightly on her hand, "let's go get you in another uniform or something."

The changeling helped Raven out of the bed, wincing at every single one of her pained grunts or cries. She looked shaky on her feet and Beast Boy watched her with a careful eye. He took a step away from her, hands ready to catch her if she couldn't walk.

She stepped forward and stumbled, almost collapsing to the ground. Her best friend caught her and gently pushed her back onto her feet.

"Walking's out of the question." He said, and without warning, gathered her up in his arms and headed towards her room.

As they neared her door, Beast Boy said, "So, am I allowed in your room now?"

She laughed. "I'll allow it, just this once."

The door slid open and Beast Boy strode in, placing Raven on her bed. He ran his fingers through her hair, his stomach doing flip flops when a blush stained her cheeks. When she sighed, he cleared his throat, removed his hand from the violet locks, and straightened. "I'll, um, get a new uniform from your closet."

"Wait." She said and he faced her again. Raven was standing up and attempting to take a step. Her shaky legs actually held her up, but it looked like it took a lot of effort to keep her standing.

Beast Boy was in front of her in an instant, hands absent-mindedly resting on her hips. He stared into her eyes, wishing he could know what was going on behind them. The blush on her face deepened as she began to move.

Raven's hands started on his wrists, slowly ascending up the length of his arms. The touch was driving him mad, but he held still. Her hands were light as they travelled up his biceps, and made their way to his shoulders. Then, she ran her fingers up his neck and tangled them in his hair.

She licked her lips before she spoke, and her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm so relieved that you're okay. I don't know what I would've done if I had let anything happen to you, Gar." A tear escaped down her cheek.

Before Beast Boy could cry, he pulled Raven closer to his body and kissed her. It was nothing like the kiss they shared in his dream, but one full of relief and of love. This was a kiss of everything that they had been holding back, the friendship that everyone knew had been something more, and they themselves had even denied.

But they would deny it no longer.

Beast Boy pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, sniffling before he spoke, and when he did, his voice was rough. "I'm so glad you're here now. I need you, Rae Rae."

She smiled, cracking an eye open to look at him. "I'm always here when you need me."

"I know." He said, laughing before he continued. "I know you are. And I'm always here for you, even if you don't want me there."

"Even if I throw you into the water surrounding the island?" She smirked.

"Yes, even then." The changeling smiled at her and stole anther kiss. "Now, let's get you in some clothes that aren't ripped to shreds."

She rolled her eyes. "If you insist." She walked to her closet and opened the doors. "You know, I think I'm going to shower first. I smell horrible."

He laughed. "I wasn't going to say anything." His laughing got louder when she smacked his arm playfully. But all laughter ceased when her knees almost buckled on her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her fragile yet toned body against his own.

"I don't know if you can stand longer enough to shower."

She let out an aggravated sigh. He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I can wash your hair for you, if you want me to."

She blushed and attempted to decline his offer, but he had scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. After positioning her in front of the tub with her head hanging near the faucet, he kicked off his boots and stood in it, turning the water on and grabbing the attachable shower head and began wetting her hair.

He was sure she was still blushing and the only thing keeping her there was her lack of strength. But he kept going. A puddle of shampoo was rubbed between his hands and he squatted down and began massaging it into her hair. She sighed and her body seemed to relax.

Beast Boy smiled to himself. She was actually letting him wash her hair. Of course, she was still very weak and couldn't exactly pick herself up out of the floor and fight him off, but still. "Thank you, Gar." He heard her say from under her mess of hair.

"Anything for you, Rae."

After rinsing the shampoo from her hair, he ran some conditioner through the ends of her hair and rinsed that out as well. "All done." He announced, reaching for the towel on the sink and carefully ringing her hair out. She tried to use the edge of the bathtub as leverage, but she ultimately fell back to her knees.

The changeling helped his friend from her old position and sat her on the edge of the tub. She have him a weak smile and pushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "I can sit here and do the rest, Gar. Thank you, though."

He replied by pecking her on the cheek. "I'll bring you some clothes." He turned for the open door, but didn't get far when she said his name again

"Garfield?"

"Yes?" He spun around to face her, his stomach fluttering when he saw that trademark smirk on her face.

"My undergarments are in the top drawer of my dresser."

This time, it was he who blushed. "Um, I'll be waiting out here for you." And he all but ran from the bathroom. He found her civilian clothes in the very back of her closet, taking a pair of black sweat pants and some gray sweatshirt to her. He very reluctantly gathered her undergarments and headed to the bathroom door once again.

He looked down at the gray sweatshirt, thinking it looked very familiar. And that's when he remembered why. He had given it to her while they were on a mission when it was very cold outside, because she was shivering and her t-shirt and thin sleeping bag weren't doing her any good.

Raven had kept it. After all this time. He smiled, pushing open the door and placing the clothes on the counter and walked back outside.

Beast Boy stretched out on her bed and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He had been so relieved when he found her awake. He had never felt as happy as he had in that moment. Raven was back. Raven was okay.

He let his mind wander and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.


End file.
